May
and husband Don Gillis first came to Halfmoon Bay in 1964. They purchased,
and spent their summers in, one of the original Redrooffs Resort cabins.
Over the years they improved the cabin until, in 1988, Don built a new
home in which they now live year round. In the early, 1900s Mr. Hubert
Kitchin and partner B.J. Wolfe Merton started a summer resort in Halfmoon
Bay at what is now known as Cooper's Green. On the'Green' several small
cabins, a store, a dance hall, a dining room and a tennis court were
located. Along the beach to the south, at different times through these
early years, they built eight cabins and called the resort Redrooffs
after a place in England. Each cabin had a red roof which could clearly
be seen by passing vessels and the passengers on the Union Steamships
which serviced the resort. The resort had several owners until, in 1942,
the land was sub-divided and sold, in many cases to families who had
happily spent their summers there. The families in the houses along
the old Redrooffs resort beach area formed the Redrooffs Beach and Country
Club which still today holds several sporting events and, since 2007,
a dance over the summer months. The majority of the photographs are
of the current homes along the beach.